Campaign Ad Watch: Obama 'Steel' commercial

Tuesday

May 15, 2012 at 12:01 AMMay 15, 2012 at 7:10 PM

This commercial builds on a documentary aired by a Republican consultant during the primaries, suggesting that when Romney ran the investment firm Bain Capital, he destroyed jobs in pursuit of quick profits.

Jack Torry, The Columbus Dispatch

Ad: “Steel,” a two-minute TV commercial.

Producer: Obama for America.

Where to see it: On television, statewide or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWiSFwZJXwE

Video: Former steelworkers, photos and film images of Mitt Romney and a closed steel plant.

Script: Joe Soptic, steelworker: “I was a steelworker for 30 years. We had a reputation for quality products. It was something that was American-made, and we weren’t rich, but I was able to put my daughter through college.”

John Wiseman, a steelworker for 28 years: “Having a good-paying job that you can support and raise a family on is hugely important.”

Soptic: “That stopped with the sale of the plant to Bain Capital.”

Romney: “I know how business works. I know why jobs come and why they go.”

David Foster, lead negotiator for workers at GST Steel: “Bain Capital was the majority owner. They were responsible. Mitt Romney was deeply involved in the influence that he exercised over these companies.”

Soptic: “They made as much money off it as they could, and, they closed it down, they filed for bankruptcy, without any concern for the families or the communities.”

Jack Cobb, a steelworker for 31 years: “It was like a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us.”

Soptic: “It was like watching an old friend bleed to death.”

Romney: “As I look around at the millions of Americans without work, it breaks my heart.”

Wiseman: “Bain Capital sought elimination of the pension plan and termination of employee and retiree insurance and health insurance.”

Soptic: “I was devastated. It makes me angry. Those guys were all rich, they all have more money than they’ll ever spend. Yet, they didn’t have the money to take care of the very people that made the money for them.”

Wiseman: “Bain Capital walked away with a lot of money that they made off of this plant. We view Mitt Romney as a job destroyer.”

Cobb: “To get up on national TV and brag about making jobs, when he has destroyed thousands of people’s careers, lifetimes, just destroying people.”

Soptic: “He’s running for president, and if he’s gonna run the country like the way he ran our business, I wouldn’t want him there. He would be so out of touch with the average person in the country. How could you care? How could you care for the average working person if you feel that way?”

President Barack Obama: “I’m Barack Obama, and I approved this message.”

Analysis: This commercial builds on a documentary aired by a Republican consultant during the primaries, suggesting that when Romney ran the investment firm Bain Capital, he destroyed jobs in pursuit of quick profits.

The workers in the commercial suggest that Bain bought the steel company and then quickly forced it into bankruptcy. In reality, Bain bought the steel company in 1993, when Romney was Bain’s chief executive. But bankruptcy was not declared until 2001 — which was two years after Romney said he relinquished control of day-to-day operations of Bain. Critics, however, argue he continued to play a major role at Bain until 2003.

The commercial fails to note that the entire U.S. steel industry went through difficult times during the late 1990s — from 1998 through 2002, 19 steel companies, including LTV, filed for bankruptcy protection. U.S. steel companies blamed the fall of the industry on inexpensive foreign imports, prompting President George W. Bush in 2002 to impose tariffs on foreign steel producers — a decision he reversed a year later.

For what it’s worth, Steve Rattner, who directed the restructuring and bailout of General Motors and Chrysler for the Obama administration, called the Obama commercial “unfair” during an appearance yesterday on MSNBC.

“I do think to pick out an example of somebody who lost their job, unfortunately, this is part of capitalism, this is part of life,” Rattner said. “And I don’t think there’s anything Bain Capital did that they need to be embarrassed about.”

jtorry@dispatch.com

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